Philly Sports: Some recent athletes you should dislike

Markelle Fultz

Hey, I’m as surprised as you that I actually found a photo of Markelle Fultz in a 76ers uniform. I had just assumed that I’d only come across images of him in street clothes sitting on the bench, because that’s seemingly all he did during his time in Philly.

What a bum.

Far be it from me to speculate on what might have actually been wrong with him during his time in Philadelphia, but it was clear that his issues were more than physical. It turns out that he’s essentially Exhibit A for anyone trying to prove the long-standing mythology that some athletes just can’t handle Philly.

Still, as usual, the 76ers have to foot a lot of the blame here. By taking him with the first overall pick in 2017 (and trading up to do it), we had all assumed that they had done their due diligence. And once again, the Sixers proved us wrong as we endured a disastrous two-year stretch where Fultz only got into 33 regular season games. His most meaningful contribution was colliding with Joel Embiid, breaking Embiid’s face and turning him into the Phantom of the Process. What fun.

Shipped to the Magic in 2019, Fultz actually had a relatively productive season in Orlando, and he might turn into a decent player yet. Not first overall pick worthy, sure, but still usable. As for his legacy in Philly…what legacy?